epiphyte

[ep-uh-fahyt]

noun Botany.

a plant that grows above the ground, supported nonparasitically by another plant or object, and deriving its nutrients and water from rain, the air, dust, etc.; air plant; aerophyte.

Origin of epiphyte

First recorded in 1840–50; epi- + -phyte

Related formsep·i·phyt·ic

[ep-uh-fit-ik] /ˌɛp əˈfɪt ɪk/, ep·i·phyt·i·cal, adjectiveep·i·phyt·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for epiphytic

Historical Examples of epiphytic

Those are epiphytic orchids—air-plants, you know: they require no earth for their roots: they live on the air.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 26, October, 1880
Various
Among the plant-treasure from India, Australia and Malaya were large numbers of epiphytic orchids.
Makers of British Botany; a collection of biographies by living botanists
Various

British Dictionary definitions for epiphytic

epiphyte

noun

a plant that grows on another plant but is not parasitic on it

Derived Formsepiphytic (ˌɛpɪˈfɪtɪk), epiphytal or epiphytical, adjectiveepiphytically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for epiphytic

epiphyte

1816 (implied in epiphytous), from epi- "upon" + -phyte "plant."

epiphytic in Science

epiphyte

[ĕp′ə-fīt′]

A plant that grows on another plant and depends on it for support but not food. Epiphytes get moisture and nutrients from the air or from small pools of water that collect on the host plant. Spanish moss and many orchids are epiphytes. Also called aerophyte air plant

Related formsepiphytic adjective (ĕp′ə-fĭt′ĭk)